Tag: Alan Arkin

The Minions: Rise of Gru

The Minions: Rise of Gru

They say laughter is good for the soul. Well, there has not been much to laugh about lately, but if you see this latest installment of the Minions with all of their silliness, you will laugh.

Set in the 1970s, Gru is growing up in the suburbs. A fan of the super villain / super group known as “The Vicious 6”, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. To his luck Gru gets some mayhem making backup from his loyal followers. Kevin, Stuart, Bob and new comer Otto who all deploy their skills to assist Gru in helping him make their first weapon and pull of their first mission, but the Vicious 6 have other ideas. The story unfolds from there…

This is not the best installment in this franchise, but the silliness and laughter it brings makes it worth checking out. There are a few silly gags, some laugh out loud moments and some karate type props that make this a fun diversion. If nothing else the star-studded cast, makes you want to see/hear who is doing the voices of these silly characters. 


Believe or not, there were only adults in the theater when I saw this movie.


“The Minions: Rise of Gru” is open in Theaters

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Going in Style

“Going in Style” is Hilarious!!

Just imagine you are in your “Golden Years”. You have retired after working 30, 40 years at the same company. You have a pension that you expected to last as long as you do. The company you worked so hard for is having problems and has been purchased. The new company has decided to freeze all pensions from the purchased company. This leaves all of the current retirees without any money.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. You get together with your retired pals and decide to rob a bank. There is planning, getting into shape and learning to shoot a gun among other tasks that you need to undertake, but first you need some help from someone with a criminal mind. The story unfolds from there…

The paid critics are very Luke-warm about “Going in Style”. What could possibly be Luke-warm about a movie with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin as its stars?
I thought it was funny, entertaining and lighthearted while potentially ringing in some truth. In America today, pensions disappearing does happen. It’s funny to see 70+ year old’s putting together a plan and robbing a bank.

“Going in Style” is an entertaining movie and worth a look.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

Million Dollar Arm

“Million Dollar Arm” is quite entertaining!! Based on a true story, “Million Dollar Arm is about the first Indian man to be drafted to play in Major League Baseball in the US.

Jon Hamm plays JB Bernstein a near washed up sports agent who is trying desperately to save his business. JB gets the idea that if he can find “A Million Dollar Arm” among India’s Cricket Pitchers he would be able to save his business.

JB travels to India and in reality TV style hosts try-outs. The story unfolds from there…

The story is amusing and enjoyable. The cinematography is very interesting. It really looks like a part of the movie was filmed in India. “Million Dollar Arm” is a family friendly movie that can be enjoyed by all.

This is a 3 1/2 star movie

Grudge Match

I am not sure why the paid critics were so hard on “Grudge Match”, I found it mildly entertaining.

“Grudge Match” is about two retired Pittsburgh boxers Billy “The Kid” (DeNiro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone). They maintained a fierce rivalry that continued from the 1980’s until now. They each beat the other in a prize fight, but on the eve of their third fight Henry announced his retirement and this ended both fighters boxing careers.
Thirty years later boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Hart) comes calling. He makes both Henry and Billy an offer they can’t refuse. The story unfolds from there…

There were a few holes in the story, but the overall movie picks up toward the end especially the boxing match scenes. I found the movie to be mildly funny at times, but did not offer the comic relief expected. I think that DeNiro and Stallone had decent on-screen chemistry, but I found some of the scenes with Kim Basinger and Sylvester Stallone to be awkward.

If you have run out of “After Christmas Shopping”, then by all means see “Grudge Match”.

Argo

Remember when Iranian Revolutionaries stormed the American Embassy in November 1979? “Argo” is about the situations that led up to, during and after this awful event.

During the rioting and chaos 6 Americans were able to escape and find refuge with the Canadian Ambassador. However it was discovered by the revolutionaries that some of the Embassy staff was unaccounted for. Worried that they may be found and executed, the US Government calls extractor Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) to get the refugees out.

Tony’s plan is to pose as a Hollywood producer who is scouting the location to film a movie and plans to use the refugees as his crew. The story unfolds from there…

“Argo” is based on a true story. The movie is executed brilliantly!! The attention to detail is astounding. It’s “Dark, Intense and Sometimes Comical”.

For those of you who do not like a lot of profanity in your movies, BEWARE, the “F” word is used constantly. Sometimes it’s funny, but most of the time not so much.